Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Scientists' Breakthrough Unlocks Long-Standing Mystery Over Schizophrenia's Cause
Scientists reported on Wednesday that they had taken a significant step toward understanding the cause of schizophrenia, in a landmark study that provides the first rigorously tested insight into the biology behind any common psychiatric disorder. ... The researchers pieced together the steps by which genes can increase a person鈥檚 risk of developing schizophrenia. That risk, they found, is tied to a natural process called synaptic pruning, in which the brain sheds weak or redundant connections between neurons as it matures. During adolescence and early adulthood, this activity takes place primarily in the section of the brain where thinking and planning skills are centered, known as the prefrontal cortex. People who carry genes that accelerate or intensify that pruning are at higher risk of developing schizophrenia than those who do not, the new study suggests. (Carey, 1/27)
Scientists have identified key genetic traits that for the first time point to a biological mechanism behind schizophrenia. There has been a tremendous amount of research on the genetics of the condition, which has a strong hereditary component. But, previous work has yielded little understanding into what goes wrong in the brain to cause the illness, which is characterized by cognitive and emotional changes, often including hallucinations and delusions. (Wang, 1/27)
Scientists say they have broken new ground in the study of schizophrenia, uncovering a potentially powerful genetic contributor to the mental disorder and helping to explain why its symptoms of confused and delusional thinking most often reach a crisis state as a person nears the cusp of adulthood. Genes associated with the function of the immune system have long been suspected in schizophrenia, but scientists have been at a loss to understand the nature of the link. (Healy, 1/27)
For the first time, scientists have pinned down a molecular process in the brain that helps to trigger schizophrenia. The researchers involved in the landmark study, which was published Wednesday in the journal Nature, say the discovery of this new genetic pathway probably reveals what goes wrong neurologically in a young person diagnosed with the devastating disorder. The study marks a watershed moment, with the potential for early detection and new treatments that were unthinkable just a year ago. (Ellis Nutt, 1/27)
